Army Sgt. Rene Knox Jr.

Died February 13, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of New Orleans; ; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 3d Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; killed Feb. 13 when the vehicle in which he was riding overturned in Balad, Iraq. Also killed were Sgt. Chad W. Lake and Spc. Dakotah L. Gooding.

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New Orleans native dies in Iraq vehicle accident

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — A soldier from eastern New Orleans was killed in Iraq when the vehicle he shared with two other soldiers rolled into a canal, military officials said.

Sgt. Rene Knox Jr., 22, of New Orleans died along with Sgt. Chad W. Lake, 26, of Ocala, Fla., and Spc. Dakotah Gooding, 21, of Des Moines, Iowa, according to the Department of Defense.

The accident occurred early Sunday.

Knox was a graduate of Alfred Lawless High School, said Sheila Cordier, a cousin of Knox’s father.

Knox’s parents were unavailable Tuesday night.

Rene Knox Sr. had also served in Iraq, Cordier said.

Cordier said her cousin was taking the news hard.

“That was his oldest son, and he himself just returned from serving in the Army in Iraq last year,” she said.

Knox was the second of five children of Rene Knox Sr. and his wife, Eliria Knox, she said.

Though Knox and his two comrades were killed while on combat patrol near Balad, the Army classified their deaths as non-hostile because they were not under fire at the time of the accident.

Five soldiers were injured when they tried to rescue the three, according to the Army.